Split cable seal

ABSTRACT

A method for sealing a cable in an enclosure includes assembling a first portion and a second portion of a cable seal around a cable. The first and second portions of the cable seal define a central axial opening having a sealing surface. The cable is disposed in the central axial opening. The method further includes inserting the cable seal and cable through an entrance of a generally u-shaped cable entry point of a side of an enclosure and positioning the cable seal within the cable entry point such that the cable seal protrudes from opposite surfaces of the side. An outer gasket seals between the surfaces of the side of the enclosure and the cable seal.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/546,022,filed on Oct. 11, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,273,985 which is acontinuation of application Ser. No. 11/098,031, filed Apr. 1, 2005, nowU.S. Pat. No. 7,132,605, which applications are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND

Telecommunications networks often include cables that extend fromcentral installations through one or more cabinets or enclosures toreach the customer. Within these enclosures, a variety of equipment maybe mounted to provide signal processing, splitting or accumulation, andalso may provide cross-connections between different cables. Theenclosures provide security from accidental or intentional damage forthe equipment mounted within and also provide weather protection fromenvironmental damage. Cable entering the enclosure may pass through acable seal which ensures a weather tight seal between the cable and thehousing.

Once a cabinet has been assembled with equipment and has had cable ledinto the interior and connected to the equipment, it may be desirable tochange the housing to replace damaged elements. Such damage might becaused by an automobile accidentally impacting the enclosure or aconstruction accident. It may also be desirable to change an undamagedportion of a pre-assembled cabinet for another portion which is adifferent color, to comply with customer needs. For changes made to thecabinet for any reason, known cabinet housings and cable seals requirethat an end of the cable pass through the cable seal. This may requirecutting and reterminating many of the cables or elements of the cablesextending into the cabinet. Improvements to existing cable seals andcabinet housings are desirable.

It may still further be desirable to extend additional cables into anenclosure to expand existing service. Often, it is desirable to usepre-terminated cables to speed installation and to reduce the amount offieldwork required. Known cable seals and housings do not permit easyentry of pre-terminated cables into existing enclosures and also provideweather tight seals between the cables and the housings. Additionally,it may be desirable to assemble a cabinet about a cable which hasalready been connected to equipment which will be mounted within thecabinet, rather than having to make the cable-equipment connectionsafter mounting the equipment in the cabinet.

Improvements to these known cables seals and cabinets housings aredesirable.

SUMMARY

The present invention relates to a cable seal and an enclosure includinga cable seal. The cable seal provides a seal around a cable entering theenclosure and also seals against the enclosure. The enclosure can bereplaced about the cable without the end of the cable passing throughthe cable seal. The cable seal may include one or more nuts threadedabout a threaded body which are configured to compress an inner and anouter gasket to seal about the cable and to the enclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate several aspects of the presentinvention and together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention. A brief description of the drawings is asfollows:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a telecommunications enclosure with acable entry seal according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the enclosure of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a closer perspective view of the cable entry seal of FIG. 1,with portions of the enclosure removed for clarity.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the cable entry seal of FIG.3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective cross-sectional view of the cable entry seal ofFIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view of the cable entry seal of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the cable seal of FIG. 3 removed fromthe enclosure and with the inner and outer gaskets removed.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the cable seal of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a first partially exploded perspective view of a threaded bodyand split compression plate of the cable seal of FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is a second partially exploded perspective view of a threadedbody and split compression plate of the cable seal of FIG. 7.

FIG. 11 is a first exploded perspective view of the split threaded bodyof FIG. 9.

FIG. 12 is a second exploded perspective view of the split threaded bodyof FIG. 9.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a first half of the threaded body ofFIG. 11.

FIG. 14 is a top view of the first half of the threaded body of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is an inner view of the first half of the threaded body of FIG.13.

FIG. 16 is a side view of the first half of the threaded body of FIG.13.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a second half of the threaded body ofFIG. 11.

FIG. 18 is a top view of the second half of the threaded body of FIG.17.

FIG. 19 is an inner view of the second half of the threaded body of FIG.17.

FIG. 20 is a side view of the second half of the threaded body of FIG.17.

FIG. 21 is a first perspective view of a split threaded nut of the cableseal of FIG. 7.

FIG. 22 is a second perspective view of the split threaded nut of FIG.21.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a first half of the split threaded nutof FIG. 21.

FIG. 24 is a side view of the first half of the split threaded nut ofFIG. 23.

FIG. 25 is an end view of the first half of the split threaded nut ofFIG. 23.

FIG. 26 is a top view of the first half of the split threaded nut ofFIG. 23.

FIG. 27 is a perspective view of a second half of the split threaded nutof FIG. 21.

FIG. 28 is a side view of the second half of the split threaded nut ofFIG. 27.

FIG. 29 is an end view of the second half of the split threaded nut ofFIG. 27.

FIG. 30 is a top view of the first second of the split threaded nut ofFIG. 27.

FIG. 31 is a perspective view of an inner gasket of the cable seal ofFIG. 4.

FIG. 32 is a top view of the inner gasket of FIG. 31.

FIG. 33 is a side view of the inner gasket of FIG. 31.

FIG. 34 is a first exploded perspective view of the telecommunicationsenclosure of FIG. 1.

FIG. 35 is a second exploded perspective view of the telecommunicationsenclosure of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary aspects of thepresent invention that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughoutthe drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

In FIGS. 1, 2, 34 and 35, telecommunications enclosure 10 is shown witha portion of telecommunications cable 12 extending through a cable entrypoint 14 in a housing 16. Housing 16 includes a fixed back plate 18 anda removable front shell 20. Cable entry point 14 is formed in a top 30of front shell 20 while a cable seal 22 fitted about cable 12 isattached to fixed plate 18. Front shell 20 may also include at least oneaccess door, such as front door 24 and side door 26, which may provideaccess into an interior 28 defined within housing 16.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, cable seal 22 is shown with portions offront shell 20 and fixed plate 18 not shown and cable 12 removed. Cableseal 22 defines a central axial opening 32 permitting cable 12 to passinto interior 28. Top 30 includes a flange 34 extending along the lengthof fixed plate 18. Plate 18 and flange 34 are positioned with a gap 36between for placement of a sealing material (discussed further below) toensure a weather-tight seal between the two portions of housing 16.Along a top edge of fixed plate 18 adjacent cable entry point 14 is agenerally horizontally extending flange 40. Flange 40 cooperates withcable seal 22 to ensure the integrity of the weather-tight seal betweentop 30 and fixed plate 18.

Referring now to FIG. 4, cable seal 22 includes an outer nut 42, acompression plate 44, an inner gasket 46, an outer gasket 48, a threadedbody 50, and an inner nut 52. Cable entry point 14 is a generallyu-shaped opening in top 30 with an entrance 54 for positioning cableseal 22 within the opening. Entrance 54 extends to a rear edge 56 of top30, and flange 34 extends down from rear edge 56. Flange 40 is generallylocated above entrance 54 and may preferably overlap rear edge 56 onboth sides of entrance 54. Preferably, gaskets 46 and 48 are made of arelatively soft and resilient material suitable for formingweather-tight seals between cable 12 and cable seal 22, between cableseal 22 and top 30, and between top 30 and fixed plate 18, as will bedescribed below. It is further preferable that inner gasket 46 be madeof a material having a lower durometer or relative softness than outergasket 48, even if both gaskets are made of the same general material.

Referring now to FIG. 4, outer gasket 48 includes a peripheral groove orslot 66 which is sized and configured to engage a peripheral edge 68 ofcable entry point 14. A central opening 72 in outer gasket 48 is sizedto receive inner gasket 46. An access slot or split 70 extends intocentral opening 72 and permits positioning of inner gasket 46 withouthaving to pass either end of inner gasket 46 through opening 72. Aplurality of openings 74 are spaced apart about central opening 72. Anarrow web of gasket material 76 separates opening 72 from each of theopenings 74.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, cable seal 22 is shown incross-sectional views to illustrate the relationship of the variouselements comprising the cable seal. Gasket 46 is located entirely withinthreaded body 50, except for a flange 58 adjacent an outer end of cable22. This flange 58 is positioned between an outer surface of outergasket 48 and compression plate 44 and forms a weather-tight sealbetween gaskets 46 and 48 about central axial opening 32. Outer gasket48 includes a transversely extending sealing flange 62 which may extendthe length of top 30 and provides a seal between flange 34 of top 30 andan inner surface 64 of fixed plate 18. Sealing flange 62 extends withingap 36.

Inner and outer nuts 52 and 42 engage a threaded outer surface ofthreaded body 50. Advancing the nuts toward each other will compressinner and outer gaskets 46 and 48 and form the desired seals. Outergasket 48 includes an outer surface 60 against which flange 58 of innergasket 46 seals and an inner surface 78 which inner nut 52 may engage asit advances along threaded body 50. Each of outer nut 42, compressionplate 44, threaded body 50, and inner nut 52 are composed of two halveswhich are separable from one another so that they can be fit about cable12 anywhere along the length of cable 12, without passing over an end ofcable 12. Gaskets 46 and 48 similarly include splits to permit passageof cable 12 so the gaskets can also be fit about cable 12 anywhere alongits length.

Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 8, cable seal 22 is shown with the innerand outer gasket removed. Outer nut 42 and inner nut 52, as shown areidentical and each includes a pair of halves 80 and 82, which are shownin more detail in FIGS. 21 to 30, below. The halves 80 and 82 are uniqueand keyed to fit together so that continuous threads are defined withina central axial opening 84 of each nut. Compression plate 44 includes apair of identical halves 86 which cooperate to define a plate 88, acenter core 90 and a central axial opening 92. In plate 88 are aplurality of openings 94 spaced apart about core 90 and core 90 mayinclude a matching number of recesses 96 in an outer surface 98 adjacentthe openings 94. Openings 94 and recesses 96 are sized and positioned toreceive a matching number of arms 100 of threaded body 50. Threaded body50 includes arms 100 extending from a ring 102 at a first or inner end104. Arms 100 cooperate to define a second or outer end 106. Acontinuous threaded outer surface 108 is defined by threaded body 50 sothat either of the nuts 42 and 52 could be advanced continuously along alength of threaded body 50.

Referring now to FIGS. 9 and 10, Compression plate 44 and halves 86include an inner compression surface 110 with a peripheral outer wall112. Outer wall 112 extends from inner surface 110 and defines acompression limit wall 114. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, flange 58 ofinner gasket 46 is engaged by surface 110 and compressed against outersurface 60 of outer gasket 48. The offset of limit wall 114 fromcompression surface 110 determines the limit to which flange 58 may becompressed. Potentially, if flange 58 is subjected to excessivecompression, flange 58 may be damaged and the integrity of the sealbetween gaskets 46 and 48 may be adversely affected.

Recesses 96 in core 90 within which arms 100 extend provide supportagainst inward deflection of arms 100 which might adversely affect thethreaded engagement between arms 100 and outer nut 42. Between arms 100are slots 116 which extend from outer end 106 toward inner end 104 andring 102. With no inner gasket 44 in place, compression plate 44 may beable to slide along arms 100 the full length of slots 116. A contactsurface 118 of outer wall 112 is defined which is preferably planar sothat contact about surface 118 with outer surface 60 of outer gasket 46is uniform and continuous about the entire diameter of compression plate44. A space bounded by limit wall 114 and compression surface 110 ispreferably sized to fit completely about flange 58 so that no portion offlange 58 extends between surface 118 and outer surface 60 of outergasket 48.

FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate that threaded body 50 includes a pair ofhalves 120 and 122 which cooperate to define a central axial opening128. Arms 100 and ring 102 cooperate to define an inner surface 130 ofthreaded body 50. Inner surface 130 includes an inwardly extendingcompression ledge 132 adjacent inner end 104 within ring 102. To ensurethat threaded outer surface 108 is continuous, halves 120 and 122 arenot identical and are keyed to each other by mating of a pair of pins124 of half 120 within recesses 126 of half 122, adjacent inner end 104.

FIGS. 13 to 16 provide a closer view of half 122 and FIGS. 17 to 20provide a closer view of half 120.

Referring now to FIGS. 21 and 22, nuts 42 and 52 each include halves 80and 82. Halves 80 and 82 are unique pieces to ensure that a continuousinner threaded surface 140 is formed within central axial opening 84 toengage outer threaded surface 108 of threaded body 50. Half 80 includesa pair of pins 134 and half 82 includes a pair of mating slots 136. Themating of pins 134 and slots 136 forms nuts 42 and 52 which are togetherradially so that they may be threadably mated with threaded body 50 andused to compress gaskets 44 and 46. A compression surface 138 is definedby each nut 42 and 52. As shown in FIG. 6, compression surface 138 ofnut 42 will engage plate 88 of compression plate 44 as nut 42 isadvanced along threads 108, and compression surface 138 of nut 52 willengage inner surface 78 of outer gasket 46 as nut 52 is advanced alongthreads 108.

FIGS. 23 to 26 provide a closer view of half 80. Adjacent pin 134 is aboss 142 that provides additional material to support pin 134 and theconnection on pin 134 and slot 136. In addition, a raised portion 144may also be provided on an exterior surface of half 80. Boss 142 andraised portion 144 may provide improved grip to a user tightening thenut to cable seal 22. FIGS. 26 to 30 similarly show a closer view ofhalf 82, which may also include a boss 146 to provide support for slot136 and raised portion 144.

Referring now to FIGS. 31 to 33, Inner gasket 46 includes a central core148 extending from a first or inner end 150 to a second or outer end 152where flange 58 is located. A central axial opening 154 extends frominner end 150 to outer end 152 and is sized to receive cable 12. A split156 permits passage of cable 12 into opening 154 without passing an endof cable 12 through opening 154. This allows gasket 46 to be placedabout an existing terminated cable without cutting or impacting anyconnections made with elements of cable 12.

A plurality of openings 158 extend through flange 58 about central axialopening 154. Openings 158 permit arms 100 of threaded body 50 to extendthrough inner gasket 46 and engage outer nut 42. Openings 158 are solelywithin flange 58 and that arms 100 will pass along an outer surface 160of central core 148. When inserted within central opening 92 of threadedbody 50, core 148 sits entirely within opening 92, with outer surface160 adjacent inner surface 130. A recessed portion 162 of outer surface160 is provided to positioning outer gasket 48 about inner gasket 46during assembly of cable seal 22. When outer gasket 48 is positionedwithin recess 162, outer surface 60 of gasket 48 is positioned adjacentinner surface 168 of flange 58. An outer surface 166 and an edge 164 arealso part of flange 58. Edge 164 is sized to not extend beyondperipheral wall 112 of compression plate 44 and outer surface 166 isengaged by compression surface 110.

When gasket 46 is positioned within cable seal 22, as shown in FIG. 4,and nut 42 is advanced along threaded body 50 to engage flange 58,compression surface 110 and ledge 132 are drawn together. The drawingstogether of these two surfaces compresses core 148 as well as flange 58.However, the compression of flange 58 is stopped when peripheral wall112 engages outer surface 60 of outer gasket 48. Continued advancementof nut 42 along threaded body 50 draws ledge 132 closer to nut 42 andcontinues compression of core 148, causing core 148 to bulge. As core148 is compressed, it cannot bulge outward due to the proximity of innersurface 130 of threaded body 50 to outer surface 160. Therefore, allbulging of core 148 is directed inward, into opening 154 where cable 12passes. This internal bulging of core 148 seals against cable 12.

Referring now also to FIG. 6, once peripheral wall 112 has engaged outersurface 60 of outer gasket 48, advancement of nut 42 will compressperipheral groove 66 of gasket 48 against peripheral edge 68 of cableentry point 14. Alternatively, advancing nut 52 once surface 138 of nut52 engages inner surface 78 of gasket 48 will also tend to compressgroove 66 against peripheral edge 68. Either nuts compression of groove66 against edge 68 will form a seal between cable seal 22 and cableentry point 14.

FIGS. 34 and 35 show enclosure 10 with removable shell 20 exploded fromfixed plate 18. Cable seal 22 is mounted to fixed plate 18 and cableentry point 14 is part of shell 20. In this arrangement, it isanticipated that any telecommunications equipment within interior 28will be mounted to inner surface 64 and that shell 20 can be removedwithout disturbing any of the equipment. Prior to removal of shell 20,nuts 42 and/or 52 of cable seal 22 will preferably be retracted fromengagement of other parts of cable seal 22 to relieve compression ofgasket 48 against cable entry point 14.

Sealing flange 62 of outer gasket 48 preferably extends across the fullwidth of fixed plate 18 adjacent top end 38 to provide a consistent,unbroken seal within gap 36. It is desirable to not have any verticaldiscontinuity along this horizontal edge to reduce possible entry pointsfor water and other contaminants. A separate seal 170 is formed aroundthe remainder of the interface between fixed plate 18 and removableshell 20. Seal 170 is preferably a single gasket or a series ofindividual gasket elements.

The embodiments of the inventions disclosed herein have been discussedfor the purpose of familiarizing the reader with novel aspects of thepresent invention. Although preferred embodiments have been shown anddescribed, many changes, modifications, and substitutions may be made byone having skill in the art without unnecessarily departing from thespirit and scope of the present invention, Having described preferredaspects and embodiments of the present invention, modifications andequivalents of the disclosed concepts may readily occur to one skilledin the art. However, it is intended that such modifications andequivalents be included within the scope of the claims which areappended hereto.

1. A method for sealing a cable in an enclosure comprising: assembling acable seal around a cable, the cable seal defining a central axialopening having a sealing surface, the cable being disposed in thecentral axial opening, wherein the cable seal includes: a threaded bodyhaving first and second halves that cooperate to form a generallycylindrical body with the central axial opening and a threaded outersurface; an inner nut having a pair of halves releasably attached toeach and threaded about an end of the threaded body; and an outer nuthaving a pair of halves releasably attached to each and threaded aboutthe end of the threaded body; inserting the cable seal and cable throughan entrance of a generally u-shaped cable entry point of a side of anenclosure; and positioning the cable seal within the cable entry pointsuch that the cable seal protrudes from opposite surfaces of the side,wherein an outer gasket seals between the surfaces of the side of theenclosure and the cable seal.
 2. A method for sealing a cable in anenclosure as claimed in claim 1, wherein advancing the outer nut towardthe inner nut reduces an inner diameter of the sealing surface.
 3. Amethod for sealing a cable in an enclosure as claimed in claim 2,wherein the sealing surface is an inner gasket disposed in the centralaxial opening.
 4. A method for sealing a cable in an enclosurecomprising: assembling a cable seal around a cable, the cable sealdefining a central axial opening having a sealing surface, the cablebeing disposed in the central axial opening, wherein the cable sealincludes: a threaded body including first and second halves whichcooperate to form a generally cylindrical body with the central axialopening and a threaded outer surface, the body having a first end and asecond opposite end, the first end including a continuouscircumferential ring and a plurality of arms extending from the ring tothe second end, an outer surface of each arm threaded and defining aportion of a circle, the central axial opening including an internallyextending ledge within the ring adjacent the first end; a compressionplate including a pair of halves which cooperate to form a generallyflat plate having an outer surface and an inner surface and with acentral axial opening defined by a central cylinder, the compressionplate including a plurality of openings sized to receive the arms of thethreaded body; an inner gasket including a central axial opening, agenerally cylindrical core extending from a first inner end to a secondouter end and a radially extending flange at the second end, the flangeincluding a plurality of openings sized to receive the arms of thethreaded body via the openings of the compression plate, the second endof the inner gasket adapted for engaging the inner surface of thecompression plate and the first end of the inner gasket adapted forengaging the ledge within the threaded body, wherein the inner gasket issplit to provide access to the central axial opening through a side wallof the inner gasket; the outer gasket including a plurality of openingspositioned about a central opening sized to receive the arms of thethreaded body, the outer gasket including an outer edge in which isformed a groove, the outer gasket including an inner face and outerface, and a slit from the outer edge into the central opening; an outernut including a pair of halves releasably attached to each and adaptedfor threaded engagement about the second end of the threaded body, theouter nut adapted for engaging the outer surface of the compressionplate; and an inner nut including a pair of halves releasably attachedto each and adapted for threaded engagement about the second end of thethreaded body, the inner nut adapted for engaging the inner face of theouter gasket inserting the cable seal and cable through an entrance of agenerally u-shaped cable entry point of a side of an enclosure; andpositioning the cable seal within the cable entry point such that thecable seal protrudes from opposite surfaces of the side, wherein anouter gasket seals between the surfaces of the side of the enclosure andthe cable seal.
 5. A method for sealing a cable in an enclosure asclaimed in claim 4, wherein the inner nut and outer nut are identical.6. A method for sealing a cable in an enclosure as claimed in claim 4,wherein advancing the outer nut toward the inner nut compresses the coreof the inner gasket between the compression plate and the ledge of thethreaded body causing the central axial opening of the inner gasket toreduce in diameter.